Activists work toward unifying in Slager protests

Local civil rights groups called for an urgent community town hall meeting on Friday at the International Longshoreman's Association.

This comes after several protests this week against Michael Slager being released from jail on bond. Slager is a former North Charleston police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of Walter Scott. He was released on bond earlier this week.

That meeting was private and media were not allowed in. Black Lives Matter leaders say they along with other activist groups came together to discuss how they were going to organize themselves in way to get their message across in seeking justice.

"When groups get together, there's a mashing process a growing process if you will and this right now we are growing as a group and trying to develop a plan," says Executive Director of the Community Resource Center, Lewis Smith.

Smith came out to tonight's meeting along with other activists. He says they're working to become more unified.

"I think in the next few days you're going to see a lot of different groups doing they're different things perhaps, but the ultimate goal is that we address the issue of Slager not being in jail," says Smith.

Friday afternoon the National Action Network (NAN) held a press conference that addressed just that.

We have many members of our community in jail for two, three years, and they're sick. They're not given that same opportunity," says Smith.

At the conference a protester clashed with a group leader who demanded that their protests remain nonviolent.

That protester was Shango Osoosi he says, "I probably said some things I shouldn't have said, I got a little out of hand and I kind of overstepped that line."

Osoosi says, "when that happened during that time..the same thing a lot of people in Charleston feeling a lot of anger and heartbreak from the events that occurred last year as well as all around the country. We angry we mad we're upset we're heartbroken more than anything."

President of the Charleston Chapter of NAN, Elder James Johnson said at the conference that it's important for the groups to be on one accord.

"We all are in solidarity together, there's no division here," says Johnson.

In the activist's list of demands, they've requested for a federal prosecutor to oversee the case among other things. They are also seeking a meeting with Judge Clifton Newman and a written response detailing why Slager's bond was granted after it was initially denied.